Center Parcs advert banned for ‘encouraging parents to take their children out of school’

A Center Parcs advert has been banned for promoting term-time family holidays (Picture: YouTube)

An ‘irresponsible’ TV advert for Center Parcs resorts has been banned for encouraging parents to take their children on holiday during term time.

It featured families with school-aged children taking part in various activities, but the offer was only available outside of school holidays.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled the advert could not appear again in its current form and advised Center Parcs to ‘avoid promoting family breaks which were only available during school term times’.

‘We considered the emphasis of the ad was on a family break and that the overall impression was that families could take advantage of the advertised offer, which was not available at weekends or during school holidays,’ it said.

‘We also noted the final on-screen text stated “Your family. Your time”, which we considered was likely to be an encouragement for parents to take up the offer.

‘Because the ad had focused on a family break to promote an offer which was available only during term time, we concluded it irresponsibly encouraged parents to take their children out of school.’

Center Parcs said there was nothing in the advert that encouraged them to take their children out of school during term times.